Gold In California: A Retrospective Of Recordings, 1975-1985

Kate Wolf

Product Details

• Audio CD (September 28, 1993)
• Original Release Date: 1986
• Number of Discs: 2
• Label: Rhino / Wea
• ASIN: B000003349
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #19,090 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Kate Wolf died of leukemia in 1986, and listening to this exceptional, two-disc retrospective reminds us of just how much we lost. Her voice had a palatable ache, a lonesome grace, and she wrote so many thoughtful, finely shaped songs. Every song her makes clear how well she understood the deepest aspects of both country and folk idioms: "Like a River" flows like a classic bluegrass ballad, "The Sun is Burning" is an intense political meditation, and her finest song, "Unfinished Life" is a heartbreaking premonition of death. Fans of Townes Van Zandt, Lucinda Williams, and Iris Dement must hear these songs. With Kate Wolf, the well is more than deep: it never seems to end. --Roy Francis Kasten

Product Description

No Description Available
No Track Information Available
Media Type: CD
Artist: WOLF,KATE
Title: GOLD IN CALIFORNIA-1975-85
Street Release Date: 09/28/1993
Domestic
Genre: FOLK

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

31 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Retrospective and Introduction to an Essential Artist, October 15, 1998

By A Customer

Kate Wolf put this retrospective of her music together as she was dying of leukemia, aware that she would not perform again. It is an overview of the various aspects of her career, a roadmap of where this artist had been and where she might have gone if she'd been given more time. From meditations on lost love (Unfinished Life) to visionary songs of hope (Brother Warrior) through sheer poetry (She Rises Like the Dolphin) to simple songs of the joys of real friendship (The Trumpet Vine), this woman knew of life and had the genius-level talent to be able to sing it right into your heart. Her work never strayed much from the basic folk ballad form, but how she stretched beyond what most believed were the limits of that form! In her quiet, individual way, Kate was as significant an artist as the best you could name--Neil Young, Judy Collins, even (pardon the personal opinion) Dylan. And her music--as can be easily heard in this collection--is, in the best, finest sense of the word, timeless.

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Melancholy and Romantic, August 21, 2002

By	"seasidewanderer" (Portland, OR United States) - See all my reviews

This CD, especially Volume 2, stayed in the CD alarm clock and became "wake-up" and "fall-asleep" music for about a year. Kate Wolf put this collection together as she was dying of leukemia. Songs like "Unfinished Life" allude to her coming to grips with mortality. Her lyrics are pure poetry infused with life wisdom. Her lovely voice is both soothing and tinged with a touch of sorrow.

My favorite song, "Here in California," contains wonderful maternal advice about falling in love:
"When I was young, my mama told mama told me,
she said, 'Child take your time.
Don't fall in love quickly,
before you know your mind.'
She held me 'round the shoulders,
and in a voice so soft and kind
She said, 'Love can make you happy
and love can rob you blind.' "

"Two-Way Waltz" evokes the pain and hope of the two lovers reuniting or considering a reconcilation after a difficult separation: "[T]he sweetest hello always comes after the hardest goodbye."

If you believe that the only way to cure a broken heart is to listen to the blues*, or if you are a hopeless romantic who can't hear too many love songs, "Gold in California" is a must. * Note: Kate Wolf is not a blues singer. Her style is modern folk.

20 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A true sharing into the soul of a great poet, July 24, 1999

By A Customer

I have had this on cassette since 1985 and when I play it, I still get chills. Her song, "Trumpet Vine" made me think she'd somehow gotten into my soul and saw things about me. This is my favorite of all her work. Her album "Give Yourself to Love" is second best. She preferred performing to smaller crowds which always made her performances intimate. I met her a couple of times during intermissions. She liked to discuss her work with her fans. If you've ever lived in California, you know that she had the true feel of the land and its people.